Worst Case Scenario
by casa-dilla
Summary: One-shot. Set after 1x22 with major spoilers. Just a little fic to explore Wade's feelings after the events of The Big Day. Rated T because I'm paranoid...


_Worst Case Scenario_

A/N: I'm working on a multi-chapter fic set after 1x22 written in Zoe's perspective. Parts of this (the dialogue in the Rammer Jammer) comes from that fic, but I really wanted to explore it from Wade's perspective. So this is post 1x22. Wade/Zoe from Wade's perspective. Look for the multi-chapter fic! It should be posted soon, titled _Masks & Mixed Signals_. If you read, please review!

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He would never actually admit it out loud, but Wade Kinsella had dreamed about a night spent in Zoe Hart's bed since the moment he first saw her, all snark and sass yelling at him about the fuse box. But somewhere along the way the fantasy of getting her in bed had been replaced with something else, something far more foreign to a guy like him. Somewhere along the way, despite all the bravado and wise-cracking he did, despite all the teasing and taunting (and sometimes terrorizing) Wade had grown to have feelings for Zoe.

Of course there was no reason for her to know about that. She had some romantic notion that she would end up with Golden Boy George even though everyone in town knew that George and Lemon were practically predestined to marry and have tons of "golden", blonde, perfect babies.

For the most part, the whole on-again-off-again nonsense with George and Lemon was the least of Wade's worries. But where Zoe was concerned, Wade tended to concern himself as well. Originally, Wade had thought he was doing Zoe a favor by telling her she needed to get over George. And it always seemed to Wade that the best way to get over someone was to move on with someone else. Wade had just never imagined that the outcome of the wedding to be that it wouldn't happen.

And now he had been screwed by Zoe Hart. Literally and figuratively.

Because last night, when she walked back into the room after answering the door, he knew something was different with her. He knew something was off.

At first, he considered that she was thinking the whole night had been a mistake. He sensed her hesitation in coming back to bed, but at the time he was so blissfully happy that he tried not to let it get to him. Worst case scenario was that she actually believed him when he told her that he wasn't the relationship type, right?

Wrong.

Oh, how very wrong he had been. Because even though he knew something was off about her that night, he had no idea how off his worst case scenario was. Sure, he had stayed the night, and she had fallen asleep wrapped up in his arms, but even then he could see her eyes watering as she drifted off to sleep.

And during the night, as he sang quietly to soothe the nightmares she had, he felt her tense just slightly when she half woke and realized he was there in bed with her. It had taken every ounce of strength that he had to leave her lying in bed by herself that morning.

The stupid grin that he knew was plastered on his face- he was sure it was going to be a permanent fixture. But it only lasted as far as the front door of the Rammer Jammer.

"You heard, right?" Shelley exclaimed the moment he'd walked in.

His stomach dropped. His heart stopped. And the bile churning in his stomach and rising up his throat told him just how far off from worst the worst case scenario in his head had been. Compared to the tsunami of conflicting emotions burning throughout him at that moment, the worst he'd been able to come up with the night before had been a measly drop of rain.

He listened silently to about the first five words out of Shelley's mouth, which had consisted of "George and Lemon called off-" before he tuned her out. In fact, he tuned out every other person in the place, because when word travelled in Bluebell, the best place for gossip was the Rammer Jammer. Instead, Wade focused on everything around the bar that needed to be done. The beer lines needed to be bled (no one wanted to drink warm beer that had been sitting in the tap all night after all). Limes and lemons needed to be cut, and there were still dishes lying around since the bar had closed unexpectedly the day before due to the bad weather.

Suddenly everything from the night before clicked into place. And it all made sense. The way Zoe had reacted after she answered the door. Had it even really been Lavon after all? Or was it _**him**_?

Wade couldn't even bring himself to think of his friend's name without the instant feeling of revulsion resurfacing. It was no wonder she'd acted the way she had. It explained the tears and the tension- all of it.

And now he knew what he had to do. It was to protect himself and it was to let Zoe off the hook. Because he knew exactly what she would do now. She'd do what she'd always done… go after George with wild abandon. The wedding was off, George was single and Wade was sure that as far as Zoe was concerned anything that happened between them the night before had been a massive mistake.

She had actually shown up at the bar earlier than he had expected her to, considering the news. He had assumed that she would avoid him. But there she was, looking as adorable as he could ever remember her looking.

He stopped in front of the bar stool she had sat in and memories flooded his mind and almost made him choke on the words when he said "Hey, Doc." He flashed his normal smirk, knowing that if he was going to convince her, he had better believe it himself.

"Hi," she replied quietly. Wade poured her a cup of coffee and returned to his daily chores.

Finally, he got up the courage to look her in the eye again and made his way back to where sat quietly, wiping the bar down as he went. "So, about last night…" Zoe began.

He wanted to yell at her for not telling him about the wedding. And he wanted to take her in his arms and tell her that he wasn't going to let anyone-not even George- have her. But Wade had already made his decision. He wasn't going to get in the way of what she had wanted for so long. And he sure as hell wasn't going to be the one that she left for someone else.

"Let's call it what it was, Doc," he replied calmly. When she finally looked up and met his eyes, he wasn't sure he had the resolve to go through with it. He still saw a hint of something in her gaze. A hint of something like desire. Looking at her that way, it was a miracle he didn't lose his nerve. Wade swallowed hard and focused on the spot on the counter he was wiping down. "A do-over from the heat wave," he lied. "Ya know a free pass… tension relief, whatever you wanna call it."

It was a long moment before she spoke again. He wondered if maybe she was reconsidering. But surely, when compared with George, Wade had nothing to offer Zoe. She had to know that. Finally, she dared to meet his eyes again. "But the barn… I thought-"

Wade shrugged. "Guess you thought wrong, Doc." And then he disappeared into the kitchen.

It was probably the hardest thing he'd done to date, blowing off Zoe Hart like that. And it was certainly going to result in an earful from Lavon later. But none of that changed the fact that Wade had begun imagining what life would be like without Zoe Hart, and for reasons he couldn't quite explain, a life like that just didn't make sense anymore. Besides, if he couldn't be with her, worst case scenario was having their old, antagonistic relationship back, right?


End file.
